A/N: Guess who's back :) My sincere apologies for the heavy delay in posting. Real life really got in the way and the situation is not set to improve in the coming weeks unfortunately. But enough about that - welcome back to new chapter of The Black Arrow :)
A big thank you goes to my beta Wanderlustandfreedom and Harry POtter Fan 1994 for their precious help with this chapter. And I'd also like to thank my regular reviewers Carvie16, fresh-BLOOD-was-drawn-2night, AmethystDragon14, Harry Potter Fan 1994, Stardust28 and SparkyGurly 227 for having left a review for the last chapter.
Any feedback (big or small) is always appreciated and is a great motivational boost for me to continue writing so don't be afraid to leave me a message with your thoughts.
AmethystDragon14: I'm kinda a little afraid to tell you that Ben and Mal's pain is far from over so you're right to be scared of me (evil laugh lol). As for Uma..well she is a complicated woman but aren't all villains?
Stardust28: I'm so happy that you managed to get the sense of betrayal I wanted to portray. I'm looking forward to know what you think of what is coming up.
fresh-BLOOD-was-drawn-2night: No Harry didn't know Ben was there but you might be one to something. You'll understand what I mean in the future chapters. And yes Uma was not lying about her story - there is no black and white and every villain has a driving force that makes them choose evil. In her case, a broken heart made her cold and search for the gratification in power instead.
SparkyGurly 227: Lonnie is kinda a secondary character here but I'm still trying to portray he brave traits of her canon version. I'm happy that you've grasped my intentions.
Carvie16: Okay...to be honest I'm a little worried about your reaction to this chapter. I've gone a little dark again but I promise that this is one of the last times ;) Is it bad to say that I'm kinda happy and proud by your reaction towards Lonnie's character and your reaction to this story in general. From one end I'm sorry that it's weighting heavily on your heart but on the other your comments make me proud that I've managed to have such a deep impact with my writing considering that this is my first attempt at a fanfiction. By the way...I think your choice to get a bucket was a wise one considering what is to come (evil laugh emoticon lol)
Harry Potter Fan 1994: Uma's plan will be very clear in a chapter or two so hold on to that thought. I'm curious to see what you think about the corrections I've made to the chapter. Hope it's better! Thank you once again for the help.
Last chapter, Ben returned to Camelot to witness Mal kiss Harry in an attempt to get the information she needed to stop Arthur's assassination attempt. Ben was devastated and was surprisingly comforted by Uma who revealed her backstory in the process.
Mal chose to remain in Auradon, convinced more that ever to save Arthur's life. Will Harry reveal Gaston's plans? Read to find out...
Chapter 28
Despite her best efforts to remain stone-faced, it didn't take long for Mal's nervousness to manifest. She was back in her bedroom at Auradon's castle and Harry Hook was standing in front of her. They were alone, as Evie had returned to her adjoining room an hour earlier. Her breath hitched a little but she hoped the knight hadn't heard her. This was her last chance to get the information she needed from him. Mal swallowed, squaring her shoulders and steeling her nerves. A cool breeze brushed past her cheek from the balcony she was facing. She glanced from the outside to the slope of Harry's shoulders in front of her.
"You promised to tell everything about Arthur," Mal said with a little smile, taking a step closer to Harry. "Is Gaston planning an ambush?"
Harry's smile turned into a smirk. He stood still and his gaze focused on her eyes for a few seconds before he took a step past her and began to circle her. "You see, Princess, gold makes the world go round." Harry stopped behind Mal and leaned in, his hot breath tickling Mal's ear and making her hair stand on end. "Look at Sir Lancelot, for example."
"Sir Lancelot?" Mal asked with a furrowed brow.
"Yes, King Arthur's guard and most trusted knight," Harry trailed off as he resumed his slow walk to face the princess. "At the right moment, he'll open Camelot's doors to an assassin sent to kill Arthur. No one will see it coming."
"When?" Mal asked in a whisper as a cold shiver crept down her spine. She'd been right – Gaston was planning to kill Arthur. But never in her wildest dreams could she have believed that Sir Lancelot would betray Camelot's king.
"Very soon," Harry trailed off, cupping Mal's cheeks with both of his hands. "But you know what I believe? That it's love that makes the world go around." Harry's hands left Mal's cheeks and traveled down her neck, stopping on her collar bone.
Mal's chest shuddered with the effort of holding her breath and keeping a tight smile plastered on her face. "You're so beautiful," the knight murmured as his gaze raked down her body. Harry leaned forward, his mouth an inch away from hers. "You told me your heart belongs to me and now we're alone at last," he trailed off.
Mal's heart began to hammer as bile rose in her throat. She took a step back, hoping the knight would let go of her, but Harry kept his position. Mal glanced at the door of the servant's quarters and turned to face Harry. "Evie might hear us," she stammered.
"It all depends on you," Harry replied, his smirk growing wider.
Mal continued to move back as Harry began to push her towards the bed, his hands tracing patterns up and down her throat and cheeks slowly. "I think we're rushing," she replied, her voice shaking with fear.
"What are you afraid of, Mal?" Harry whispered. "You don't seem the type of girl who's afraid of men."
Harry kept pushing the princess back, his movements becoming more decisive as he continued to caress her exposed skin. Mal felt herself lose control of her body and her knees began to tremble. They buckled under her when they hit the side of her bed.
Mal used her hands to remain upright and support herself in a half-sitting position. "I," she began to stammer, "I…."
"I thought you liked being the prey," Harry mouthed, leaning forward and forcing Mal to lie on her back.
Mal froze. Her world turned pitch black and then suddenly shifted and the princess found herself back in her childhood house in Grimsville. Her mother fell limply onto the floor as the towering knight, covered in darkness, pulled the knife out of her chest.
"No!" Mal screamed, snapping back to reality and began to thrash around on the bed as Harry had pushed himself on top of her. "No! Help!"
Harry stared at her in surprise. Then, down the hall, thundering footsteps rushed towards her.
The door to Mal's room slammed open with a loud bang. A thundering voice echoed across the room. "Harry! What are you doing?" Gaston yelled with a loud cry. Two guards flanked each of his sides. The Lord seized the young knight by the shoulders and yanked him off the trembling princess.
Mal took long, deep breaths, trying to calm herself and wrapped her arms around herself. It was over and she was safe, she tried to assure herself. It took her a few moments to realize that Evie had also entered the room and was staring wide-eyed at Lord Gaston, who now held Harry by the collar of his doublet.
"What were you thinking?" Gaston yelled. "Princess Mal is a gift for King Stefan. No one can touch her. Do you understand?"
"As you command, Lord Gaston," Harry replied.
"I'm not sure you've understood what you've done. Maybe a night in the dungeons will make you think twice before pulling another stunt like that," Gaston bellowed, throwing the young knight towards the guards behind him. "Take him away from my sight," the Lord ordered, and the soldiers dragged the struggling Harry away. The Lord's gaze shifted from Mal to Evie. The handmaiden nodded and silently approached the bed, scooping up the still trembling princess in her arms.
The Lord satisfied that the situation was back under control, left the room without uttering another word.
Gaston's exit was followed by a very long silence, broken only by the constant heavy sobbing from Mal. Evie found herself staring at the Fae princess huddled on her lap, unsure of what to do until her heart began to thud painfully. On instinct, she rested one hand on Mal's shoulder while she ran the other through the princess's short purple hair. "It's over, Princess Mal," she began in a whisper. "You're safe."
"I saw my mother's death," Mal whimpered, unable to control her shaking voice. "And there was that horrible man."
"Calm down, princess," Evie replied, tightening her hold on Mal's shoulder. "You're safe. No one can hurt you."
Mal didn't know what to make of the sudden warmth that had spread through her heart as Evie's comforting - almost motherly - touch continued to stroke her hair. The princess relaxed, feeling secure, and subconsciously arched further into her. "My mother died right before my eyes when I was six," she murmured. "She died trying to protect me; to save me from the man who'd killed my father."
Evie sucked in a deep breath, her posture stiffening. An unexpected fluttering settled in her stomach as she debated over what to tell the princess. What was getting into her? The princess was just her charge and her job was to turn her into a queen fit to marry King Stefan. Evie bit her lip as she remembered Mal's sad and painful expression when she'd told her about her life as a courtesan and how the princess had squeezed her hand in comfort. After a very long and still few minutes, she spoke, fumbling for the right words. "I'm so sorry," she said.
For a fleeting moment, Mal was back in her mother's arms as a child, feeling safe and secure after waking up from a nightmare. A feeling of warmth raced through her and Mal's hands curled over Evie's knee. "He killed my father in cold blood and then dragged my mother to the bedroom where I was hiding," Mal whimpered, unable to keep the tremble from her voice. "He kept telling her to stop struggling as she was now his but my mother refused to give up. She found a knife and attacked him but I made a noise and alerted them to my presence. The next thing I remember was my mother's scream as she lunged at him and her limp body falling to the floor, the knife sticking out of her stomach."
A sense of horror welled up inside Evie and all of the color drained from her face. She lifted her hand from Mal's shoulder and pressed it to her mouth. Tears filled her eyes. "Oh goodness," she stammered. "How awful! You must have been terrified."
Mal broke down and buried her head in the skirts of Evie's tunic. Evie's free hand returned to Mal's shoulder and clutched her as tightly as she could as the princess shook and sobbed. "Shh," Evie whispered, continuing to run her hand through Mal's hair in small, soothing motions. "It's over. You're safe. No one can hurt you any longer."
After a long while, Mal's whimpers quieted down a little. "It was horrible," she whispered in a strangled tone. "It was as if I was back in that bedroom, unable to move, as Harry's hands…"
"But I," Evie interrupted, furrowing her brow in confusion. "I thought you liked Harry and that you wanted to seduce him."
"In a way, yes," Mal replied, wiping away her tears. "But it's not like you think."
Evie shook her head. "I don't understand," she said.
Mal disentangled herself from Evie and rose to a sitting position to face the handmaiden, wiping at her face. Evie stared back at her with a confused expression. "Evie, I need your help. You're my last hope," she pleaded. "I need to get a message to Camelot. Gaston wants to kill King Arthur, the man who raised me after my parent's death, and Harry knew about the plan. Help me, Evie, I beg you!"
The blue-haired maiden lowered her head and fixed the bedsheets, deep in thought. There was silence, a deep and penetrating silence as Mal waited for Evie to make her decision with bated breath. Finally, the woman looked up and nodded. Mal felt like a burden had been lifted off her shoulders.
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The roads surrounding Camelot's market square had been bustling with activity since early morning, with their colorful stalls full of mobs of people and noise. But this didn't seem to bother Merlin, who turned to look at the Auradonian prince walking at his side with a pointed gaze as he stroked his long grey beard.
Ben had come to learn in the days spent in Camelot that this was a habit of the older man whenever he was tense or nervous. The prince was not surprised by Merlin's current pinched expression. After all, he'd just accused one of Arthur's closest allies and friends to be a traitor.
"Are you sure about Lancelot, Ben?" he asked.
"Yes, Merlin. All the research I've done so far seems to point in that direc.." Ben trailed off, his gaze leaving Merlin's face to stare at the castle's entrance gate over the man's right shoulder. "Carlos," he whispered.
Merlin twirled around and watched as a farmer's cart carrying the young orphaned child rode towards them.
Ben walked up to the new arrivals. "Carlos!" he exclaimed with a smile. "What are you doing here?"
Carlos's face broke into a grin when he spotted Merlin beside Ben. "I've got a message from Mal," he revealed.
Ben looked back at him with a stern expression. "What did she tell you?" he asked.
"Only one name," Carlos replied. "Sir Lancelot."
Ben turned to look at Merlin. "Merlin, could you take care of Carlos? I need to speak immediately to Arthur." The Fae nodded and Ben began to make his way back to the castle.
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After assembling a small unit of castle guards, Ben barged into Lancelot's chamber to arrest him.
"You're making a big mistake," Lancelot said, looking at Ben. He took out his sword from the scabbard at his side and gave it to the soldier next to him.
"I'm sorry, captain," the soldier replied.
"It's not your fault Aldwin," Lancelot said, turning to face him. "You're only doing your job." Another soldier seized his arm and began to lead the captain away from his bedroom.
"I'm innocent!" Lancelot repeated as he was escorted out, brushing against Ben and Uma, who were standing beside the open door. Ben crossed his arms, unimpressed by the captain's plea.
Ben turned his head away and nodded to the men still inside the room. There was a loud rustle of papers as the soldiers began to search the captain's desk and drawers. "Prince Ben!" one of them exclaimed. Ben arched an eyebrow and walked up to the guard who held up a small bag and a letter in his hands. "I found these," he said, giving them to Ben.
A metallic jingling sound came from the coins inside the bag as Ben unfastened it to examine its contents. His expression darkened and returned the bag to the soldier, opening the letter.
"Thank you, Prince Ben. Without your help, we would've never discovered the truth," the soldier commented.
Ben lifted his gaze from the letter to look at the soldier. He arched a brow and surprise flashed through his eyes for a brief moment at the guard's statement. It was strange, Ben realized, that a soldier would speak that way of his captain. Ben cleared his throat and brushed it off without replying before turning to Uma. "This is Gaston's handwriting. We finally have proof." He announced. "Soldiers, come with me!" Ben ordered.
"What happened?" Uma asked.
"The assassin sent by Gaston," Ben began, "has a meeting with Sir Lancelot this afternoon, in a cabin on the road leading to Camelot. It's a few kilometers away from the castle."
"I'm coming with you," she replied with a straight face. Ben nodded and the pair walked out of the room, followed by a small unit of soldiers.
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Camelot's soldiers kept their position, hidden behind the trees and bushes surrounding the cabin indicated in Gaston's letter. The sound of horse hooves broke the silence as a lone rider appeared over the edge of the clearing behind the dwelling. Luckily for them, the house was built on a small incline and this offered them a good number of vantage point where they could remained undetected. Ben, who'd positioned himself behind the top left corner of the abandoned house, ran down the slope and joined Uma's side. Four soldiers were stationed beside her.
"It's him," Ben announced. "He's wearing a Camelot uniform."
The unit took up a hiding spot and waited for the fake soldier to ride up to the house. He remained on his horse, looking around him in apparent confusion.
"Now!" Ben ordered. The horses' loud squealing neighs filled the area as Camelot's soldiers appeared from the surrounding bushes and began to circle the assassin.
"Surrender," the first lieutenant commanded, "You're under arrest."
"What?" The assassin blurted out. "What's going on? What's happened?"
"Get off the horse!" Someone demanded. Everyone drew their bows back.
"Hold your fire!" Ben snapped.
Someone beside Ben loosed an arrow. As he watched, time slow down. Ben's eyes widened as it flew past him and hit the assassin in the back. The man tumbled off his horse to the ground, where he laid still and unmoving.
"No!" Ben shouted, jumping forward and quickly feeling the man's neck. There was no pulse. Ben turned around to the face the guard and paused for a second, recognising him as the one who'd found the gold coins in Lancelot's room. "We needed to question him! I said to hold your fire!" Ben retorted
"I-I'm sorry," the man stammered. "My-my finger slipped. I'm sorry." His lower lip trembled. He was still quite young. Uma laid a hand on Ben's shoulder.
"We'll take him back," she murmured. "Maybe he'll have something on him."
Ben nodded in agreement and waved the young soldier off, who was still other soldiers helped Ben load the assassin back onto the horse and they all began their slow procession back to Camelot.
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"Lancelot betrayed Camelot for money?" Arthur cried, rising from his office chair. The king looked up at Ben and Uma with his eyes blazing before slamming his hands on the large wooden desk in front of him. His cane fell on to the floor with the force of impact. Arthur shook his head. "I've offered him money and a higher position within the guards more than once, but he's always refused them."
Ben and Uma were the only people besides the king in his office and with each passing second of silence, the tension in the room increased. "There's no doubt about it," Uma commented, "the letter and money we found in Lancelot's chambers are the final proof we needed."
Arthur sighed, shaking his head again. "I understand you couldn't have done otherwise but I'm still not convinced. Lancelot would never betray Camelot."
Ben stared at the angered king in silence. He could understand Arthur's outburst and dismissed it as a reaction to the hurt and betrayal at having discovered his long-time friend was indeed a traitor. The prince cleared his throat. "My work is done, your Majesty. I'd like to be excused."
"Of course, Ben," Arthur replied with a heavy sigh, settling back on to the chair.
Ben bowed before walking out of the door. The prince made his way along the corridor, letting his gaze drop on the soldiers stationed at the foot of the stairs on the lower level. He paused in the hallway, his hands curling around the handrail, as images of the afternoon's events flashed before his eyes. Ben blinked and furrowed his brow. The soldier who'd shot the presumed traitor at the cabin was the same one who'd found the letter and the money in Lancelot's room. There was something about the soldier that he just couldn't put his finger on.
"Ben," Uma called beside him and the prince leaped a little into the air in surprise. "Didn't you hear me? I've been calling you for a while."
Ben turned around and faced the Duchess, his lips pressed into a thin line. "What is the name of the soldier that killed the assassin?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
Uma lowered her head, deep in thought. "I don't know," she replied after a few long seconds of silence. "I think he's a recruit. Why are you asking?"
"I need to find him," Ben stated.
Uma's expression darkened. "What did he do?"
"No one gave him the order to shoot that arrow, but he did so anyway. Is that what they teach the recruits here in Camelot?" Ben huffed, storming away in the direction of the soldier's quarters. The prince failed to notice Uma's sharp intake of breath and her face turn ashen before she composed herself and hurried behind the prince.
"We've been fooled, Uma. Don't you get it?" Ben exclaimed, rushing inside the busy quarters. "It was all part of Gaston's plan."
He turned towards one of the senior officers standing beside the door. "I'm looking for one of the recruits. The soldier who killed the traitor."
"That's Anthony Tremaine, your highness," the soldier replied. "But he isn't here. He went to replace a senior guard stationed at the king's quarters who wasn't feeling well."
Ben paled. "Good lord," he muttered, jerking away and rushing for the door.
A/N Uh-oh! Ben seems to be on to something but will he arrive in time to save Arthur's life? But wasn't Lancelot the traitor? Mmmm...So much going on...Mal's flashback coming back to haunt her in the worst possible way but I can happily announce (although I really shouldn't) that the next chapter will be the last time we'll see creepy Harry in the story!
Tune in to the next chapter to find out what happens next. The next couple of weeks are going to be very busy so I'm a little sad to tell you that I'll be changing by weekend posting schedule to a fortnightly one for the time being. I hope the next chapter will be worth the wait though. Until next time :)
